Storage file



Jan. m, 1933. s. 'c. HUFFMAN STORAGE FILE Filed gan. '16, 1932 S C.Huffman duo M4014 Patented Jan. 10,' 1933 PATENT OFFICE SAMUEL G.HUFFMAN, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA STORAGE rim:

Application filed January 16, 1932. Serial No. 587,113.

My invention relates to storage files of the drawer type for storinginactive records.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a jacket forslidably supporting a drawer, the jacket being made staunch and ruggedat the least possible cost.

Another of the objects is the provision of a jacket which is reinforcedso as to stand rough usage and to also withstand the weight resultingfrom the stacking of a plurality of similar jackets.

Another of the objects is the provision of a jacket having a neat andattractive appearance when in use either singly or in stacks or inbanks, the jacket being also vermin and dust proof. 4

Another of the objects is the provision of a jacket having a linerreinforcement and with a reinforced rear construction and with anglesteel reinforcements at its front corners, the angle steelreinforcements being concealed.

One of the main objects of the invention is the provision of a low costjacket which may be transported and sold in knock down condition andready to be set up for use in the minimum of time and with the minimumof effort.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in thefollowing de- 0 scription, I will now refer to the drawing, in

which Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the shell of the jacket inpartly collapsed condition.

r Figure 2 is a view in perspective of the liner.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the assembled jacket and liner readyfor use, a part of the liner being broken away to disclose the anglesteel reinforcements.

Figure 4 is a view in perspective of three units showing the strips usedat the front of the units for uniting them both in banked and stackedrelation.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the manner ofconnecting the units at their rear ends in both banked and stackedrelation.

The invention is designed to support a sliding drawer inhorizontalposition. The

single unit is shown in Figure 3 while an assemblage of units is shownin Figures land 5. The jacket for supporting the sliding drawer consistsof a shell and a liner. Both of these are collapsible for shippingand-st0r-' age and they are designed to be set up as needed.

is creased along three lines so that the edges will meet at one of thecorners. At the cor ner of the meeting edges a strip of flexibleadhesive material 12 is applied to the outer surfaces of a wall 10 and awall 11 so as to bind them together. In this manner the four edges arehinged so that the four walls may be collapsed into fiat form orexpanded into. rectangular form.

Each of the walls 10"and 11 is provided with a flap 13, the flaps 13being formed by slitting the creased edges and by forming transversecreases in the walls 10 and 11. When these walls are expanded intorectangular form the flaps 13 may be turned inward ly into planes atright angles to the planes of the walls 10 and 11. In turning the flapsinwardly one pair of opposite flaps should first be turned in and theother pair should then be turned in over the first pair of flaps. Theflaps 13 should be substantially one-half thewidth of the space whichthey are to cover so that the two pairs of flaps will completely coverthe opening. A strip of flexible adhesive material 14 is then applied tothe rear wall to cover the seam formed bv the two flaps 13, the endportions of the strip 14 being brought around and secured to the sidewalls 11. i

The above back wall construction is exceedingly rigid and beyond allrequirements of even the heaviest weights when a plurality of units arein stacked relation. One pair of flaps 13 reinforces the shell in avertical direction while the other pair reinforces the shell in ahorizontaldirection. The adhesive strip 14 holds the parts in fixedrelation so that no slippage could occur with a consequent loss ofreinforcement.

The shell is further reinforced by means of the liner shown in 'Figure2. This liner jacket.

has a form similar to the form of the inner side of the shell. It isformed by creasing at the four corners so that the bottom wall 15 is intwo parts which together have the width of the interior of the shell.The two parts 15 are united by means of a flexible strip 16. This lineris readily collapsible so that it is easy to pack, to ship and to store.

The liner fits snugly into the shell with all of its surfaces in contactwith the inner surfaces of the shell. In order to insert the liner intothe shell the bottom 15 of the liner is first buckled inwardly so thatthe entire liner has freedom of movement into the shell.

After it has been inserted pressure is applied.

to the bottom 15 to bring the two parts into a common plane and in closecontact with the bottom wall 10 of the shell. The length of the liner issuch that its forward edges are flush with the forward edges of theshell.

The back of the shell is amply re nforced by means of the two pairs offlaps 13.. Since the front of the jacket must remain open it isnecessary to rovide additional reinforcement for the front portion ofthe jacket. This is accomplished by inserting angle steel strips 17 inthe corners These strips are inserted after the assembling of the shelland the liner and the steel strips 17 are inserted so that their forwardedges are flush with the forward edges of the shell and of the liner.These steel strips 17 have very little thickness and they will thereforenot interfere with the operation of the jacket as adrawer support.

Referring again to Figure 1, it will be seen that the top, bottom andside walls 10 and 11 have secured thereto a flexible strip 18. Thissurrounds the shell with its overlapping end portions at 19. This striphas an overhanging ortion which is provided with V-shaped notc es at thecorners. \Vhen the shell and the liner have been assembled with thesteel reinforcements- 17, the overhanging portions of the strip 18 areturned inwardly into U-form and secured at the forward edges of theinner walls of the l ner. Since the strip 18 like the strips 12, 14 and16 is adhesive, it is an easy matter to assemble the various arts and toapply a damp sponge for unitmg these parts.

The storage file is designed for use in storing inactive records. Suchrecords must be occasionally consulted and they must be .available sothat access will not be: too diflicult. The records are kept in drawerswhich are slidable into and out of the jackets which I have justdescribed. There the number of these records is relatively small. asingle jacket will answer the purpose. When, however, the number of suchrecords becomes great, it is necessary to arrange the jackets in aconvenient form and to secure them in definite relation to each other soas to prevent their displacement which would not only between the shelland the make access somewhat more difiicult but appearance. The jacketswhich I have described may be stacked one above the other or they may bebanked side by side as on a shelf or they may be both stacked andbanked. This is possible because they are all of uniform size and shapefor each one kind of records. In order to prevent displacement a strip20 of gummed material may be secured to the inside lower wall of theupper jacket andto the inside upper wall of the lower jacket as shown inFigure 4. Similar strips may be secured to the contiguous inner walls ofjackets which are arranged in side by side relation. At the same timeother strips 21 may be applied either vertically or horizontally to therear walls of the casings as shown in Figure 5 for the purpose ofrigidly uniting the units in either stacked or banked relation.

Theflexible strips 12, 14 and 18 are preferably in the form of heavilygummed muslin or similar fabric. Any other material may be substitutedfor this for accomplishing the purpose of binding the parts together.Especially in the case of the strip 18 the function is to hold the linerin position inside the shell and to hold reinforcing strips 17 in place.The stri 18 also conceals the front edges of the jac et so that theentire jacket presents a neat appearance.

These jackets are to be used with sliding drawers holding the recordswhich are to be preserved. The front portions of the drawers have theform and dimensions of the mouth of the jacket so that they entirelyclose the jacket when the drawers are fully seated within the jackets.The jacket is not only neat in appearance but it preserves the recordsfrom dust and vermin and keeps them for indefinite periods of time incondition to be consulted and it has the advantage that the drawer maybe pulled out at any time for convenient access to the records.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear. and exact termsthat its construction and operation will be readily understood by othersskilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A collapsible file including an integral shell having an open frontand rigid top and bottom and side walls and a collapsible rear end wall.means for maintaining the parts of said shell in rigid rectangularrelation. a collapsible liner adapted to seat snugly within said shell.and a flexible strip secured to said shell at the front edges thereofand projecting forwardly therefrom. said strip being adapted to befolded inwardly and to be secured to the inner surface of said liner.

2. A storage file including an integral shell having an open front andtop, bottom, side, and rear end walls, a collapsible liner adapted toseat snugly within said shell, L-shaped reinforcing members insertablebetween said shell and said liner at the forward corners thereof, and aflexible strip secured to said shell at the front edges thereof andprojecting forwardly therefrom, said strip being adapted to be foldedinwardly and to be secured to the inner surface of said liner.

3. A storage file including an integral shell having an open front andtop, bottom, side, and rear end walls, a collapsible liner adapted toseat snugly within said shell, and a fiexible strip secured to saidshell at the front edges thereof and projecting forwardly therefrom,said strip being adapted to be folded inwardly and to be secured to theinner surface of said liner.

4. A storage file including an integral shell having an open front, thetop, bottom and side walls being each in rectangular form and beingadapted to be rectangularly arranged relatively to each other, a stripuniting the meeting edges of said walls, the rear wall consisting offlaps projecting from said top, bottom and side walls and adapted toform rectangular dihedral angles therewith, said flaps being sodimensioned that the meeting edges of each pair of flaps are in closejuxtaposition, a strip for uniting the outer pair of said flaps and forcovering the seam therebetween, a rectangular liner within said shell,and a fiexible strip secured to the outer surfaces at the front edges ofsaid top, bottom and side walls and projecting forwardlytherefrom, saidstrip being adapted to be folded over into U-form and to be secured tothe'inner surfaces of said liner.

5. A storage file including an integral shell 7 having an open front,the top, bottom and side walls being each in rectangular form and beingadapted to be rectangularly arranged relatively to each other, a stripuniting the meeting edges of said walls, the rear wall consisting offlaps projecting from said top, bottom and side walls and adapted toform rectangular dihedral angles therewith, said flaps being sodimensioned that the meeting edges of each pair of flaps are in closejuxtaposition, a strip for uniting the outer pair of said flaps and forcovering the seam therebetween, a rectangular liner within said shell,L-shaped reinforcing members insertable between said shell and saidliner at the forward corners thereof, and a flexible strip secured tothe outer surfaces at the front edges of said top, bottom and side wallsand projecting forwardly therefrom, said stri being adapted to be foldedover into U- orm and to be secured to the inner surfaces of said liner.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

SAMUEL C. HUFFMAN.

